The instant invention relates to safety equipment and more particularly to a safety mask construction which is adapted to be effectively and comfortably secured on the head of a wearer.
A variety of different types of safety masks have been heretofore available for providing respiratory protection and/or face and eye protection for persons who are exposed to various types of hazardous environments and conditions. In this regard, most of the heretofore available safety mask constructions have generally comprised a face portion which is adapted to be received in covering relation over a portion of the face of a wearer and a plurality of flexible straps which extend from the face portion and are receivable around the rear portion of the head for retaining the face portion in proper orientation on the head. It has been found, however, that in most instances, due to the rounded configuration of the human head, the use of flexible straps to secure the face portion of a safety mask on the head can be less than entirely effective. Specifically, it has been found that when a safety mask is constructed so that it includes flexible straps which are adapted to extend around the central rear portion of the head of a wearer, the straps tend to either slide downwardly so that they cause discomfort to the ears of the wearer or they tend to slide upwardly toward the tope of the head so that they become loosened and fail to effectively retain the face portion of the mask on the head without allowing it to sag. Further, it has been found that while these problems are generally characteristic of most of the heretofore available safety mask constructions which include flexible straps, they are compounded when the face portions of masks of this type include full face shields and/or respiratory elements which add weight thereto. Specifically, it has been found that when a safety mask of this type includes a relatively heavy face portion, the straps of the mask tend to slide upwardly or downwardly on the head even more quickly; and, as a result, the face portion of the mask tends to slide downwardly so that it is repositioned in an improper orientation on the face of the wearer. This has obvious disadvantages when a mask is adapted to provide respiratory protection for a wearer, since it can allow air to leak in around the sides of the mask; but, in any event, when the face portion of a mask slides downwardly on the face of a wearer, it inherently increases wearer discomfort.
The devices disclosed in the U.S. patents to GEER U.S. Pat. No. 1,364,104; COLETTI U.S. Pat. No. 1,491,674; COVER U.S. Pat. No. 1,813,915; STAMPE U.S. Pat. No. 2,811,967; FRANKLIN ET AL U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,816; HOLLOWAY U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,436; GORMAN U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,688; and PHILLIPS U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,090 are generally exemplary of the wide variety of different types of safety mask constructions which have been heretofore available and represent the closest prior art to the instant invention of which the applicant is aware. However, while the devices disclosed in these references are believed to be generally representative of the state of the art with respect to safety mask constructions, they nevertheless fail to teach a safety mask construction which is adapted to be effectively retained on the head of a wearer without sacrificing wearer comfort. More specifically, they fail to teach a safety mask construction comprising a face mask portion and means for securing the face mask portion on the head of a wearer, wherein the face mask portion is not prone to sagging and wherein the securing means is nevertheless adapted for maximum wearer comfort. For these reasons, the above references fail to anticipate the highly desirable and novel structural features of the safety mask construction of the instant invention; and as a result, they are believed to be of only general interest.
The instant invention provides a safety mask construction which is adapted to be easily mounted on the head of a wearer so that it is effectively and comfortably retained thereon, and therefore the instant invention effectively overcomes the disadvantages of many of the heretofore available safety masks. Specifically, the safety mask construction of the instant invention comprises a substantially rigid face portion which is dimensioned and configured to be received in covering relation over at least a portion of the face of a wearer and a pair of substantially rigid arm portions which normally extend rearwardly and together from opposite side extremities of the face portion. The arm portions of the mask are constructed so that they are resiliently separable from each other for installing the safety mask on the head of a wearer, and each of the arm portions includes an upper portion which is constructed so that it embraces a portion of the head of the wearer which faces rearwardly and upwardly when the mask is installed thereon, and a lower portion which is constructed so that it embraces a portion of the head which faces rearwardly but not upwardly when the mask is installed thereon. In other words, the arm portions embrace the rearmost portions of the head which inherently face generally rearwardly when the head is in an upright disposition, and they also embrace the upper rear portions of the head. In the preferred embodiment of the safety mask construction, the arms are hingeably attached to opposite side extremities of the face portion, and they are resiliently biased toward inwardly hinged portions so that they are positionable in resiliently biased engagement with the rear and upper rear portions of the head of the wearer, and preferably the arms are constructed so that they terminate in closely adjacent relation on the rear portion of the head when the mask is installed thereon. The face portion of the safety mask is preferably dimensioned and configured to cover substantially the entire face of a wearer, although it could also be constructed so that it only covers a portion of the face, such as the nose and mouth portion or the eye portion. Further, the face mask is preferably constructed so that it is receivable in substantially sealed engagement with the face, and it preferably comprises respirator means for filtering air which is introduced into the face portion. In addition, the face portion is preferably constructed so that when it is received on the face of a wearer, the side extremities of the face portion are positioned in front of the wearer's ears, and the safety mask preferably further comprises ear protector elements which are mounted on the arms so that they cover the ears of the wearer when the mask is mounted on the head.
Accordingly, it is seen that the safety mask construction of the instant invention is adapted to be effectively and comfortably worn on the head of a wearer. Specifically, the safety mask is constructed so that the upper portions of the arm portions thereof embrace portions of the head of a wearer which face rearwardly and upwardly and so that the lower portions of the arm portions thereof embrace rearmost portions of the head which face rearwardly but not upwardly. Accordingly, the arm portions of the safety mask tend to grasp the rear and upper rear portions of the head to prevent the face portion of the mask from sagging downwardly so that it is repositioned with respect to the face of the wearer. Further, since the face portion and the arm portions of the safety mask are made in substantially rigid constructions, and since the arm portions are biased toward inwardly hinged positions, the effectiveness with which the arm portions can grasp the rear portion of the head is further enhanced. Accordingly, the safety mask of the instant invention can be comfortably worn on the head, and the face portion of the mask can be effectively retained in proper orientation with the head, even when the face portion includes respirator elements and/or a full face shield.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the instant invention to provide a safety mask construction which is adapted to be effectively and comfortably worn on the head of a wearer.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide a safety mask construction which comprises a pair of substantially rigid arm portions which are operative for grasping the rear and upper rear portions of the head of a wearer to secure the safety mask thereon.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide a safety mask construction wherein the face portion thereof is effectively securable in proper orientation on the head of a wearer.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.